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Jürgen Klopp had a request for the world of football. “Send me a message,” the Liverpool manager said on Thursday night after his side’s 3-1 English Premier League win at Tottenham Hotspur. “If you have a central defender for a reasonable price with the quality we need, send me a message,” said the German from BT Sport. Klopp was relieved to win the main game, but the steady rain in London at Liverpool Football Club had not erased his biggest sporting concern. Quite the contrary.
Tobias Rabe
Editor in charge of Sport Online.
Because the teacher has incredible bad luck with injuries in central defense. Virgil van Dijk, the key component of success, has been sidelined with a torn cruciate ligament since October. When the Dutchman will be able to play again is uncertain, it will probably not be before April. Joe Gomez is also out of action for a long time after a knee tendon injury. Klopp pulled Fabinho out of midfield, but he too had to go through a muscle injury; after all, it shouldn’t last that long. And that’s why Klopp put captain Jordan Henderson, who is actually in midfield, next to Joel Matip.
But for former Schalke Matip, who is a trained central defender, the match didn’t last long. He had to stay in the locker room at halftime. After the game, Klopp reported an ankle injury that seemed “somewhat serious.” Nathaniel Philipps replaced Matip. It was awarded to Stuttgart last season and helped VfB move up to the Bundesliga. Besides the 23-year-old defender, the other option would have been 19-year-old Rhys Williams. Klopps’ options in the harsh winter program are dwindling.
Transfers are possible in England until Monday night. “We always think of new signings and we are doing it now,” Klopp said after the sobering inventory. “It’s about doing the right thing, we have to find the right players. It’s incredible what happens to us in defense. The situation is incredibly strange. We’ll see what we can do, but that didn’t help us tonight. ” The team played a strong match for Liverpool to be so decimated. And the defense didn’t seem to be a big weak point.
However, that may also be due to the fact that Tottenham’s opponents also have problems. Corona’s tight game plan takes its toll. And then there is also bad luck. Harry Kane, Heung-min Son’s strike partner, suffered injuries to both ankles. First on the right after a duel with Liverpool’s Thiago, the former Bayern player, then on the left after a regrettable landing in a duel with Henderson. Every time he sat on the grass, nothing worked. Coach José Mourinho expects a failure of “several weeks”. Erik Lamela came into play in the second half for the eminently important Kane.
It was 1-0 for Liverpool because Roberto Firmino had broken the spell. The ‘Reds’ had not scored in the Premier League since December 27, when the former Hoffenheim player was there in first-half injury time after 482 minutes without a goal from his club. It got even better. After a weak defense from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Trent Alexander-Arnold slammed the ball into the goal to make it 2-0. But the Spurs responded. Emil Höjbjerg scored with a remarkable shot. It was back and forth before Sadio Mané scored the reassuring 3-1 for Liverpool after a defensive error.
“I am very happy, it was a great game. We broke down a wall tonight, that’s good, ”Klopp said, relieved by the first league win since mid-December. “It’s easy to lose confidence, but you can also regain it. However, it is not like a light that can simply be turned on and off. We score the goals at the right time. I have seen many things that I wanted to see ”. Matip’s injury is not one of them. So it will be exciting to see what is happening in terms of staff through Monday.
There are hardly any breaks to breathe. Only at the end of March, when the international matches are seen again, will there be a slightly longer break for Liverpool. Until then, there are numerous games to play, not only in the Premier League, in which table Klopp’s team is now fourth. Four points remain for leader Manchester City, who has one game less on the account. After leaving the FA Cup at Manchester United, Liverpool are also in the Champions League. There is an exciting duel in the round of 16: it is against RB Leipzig and Julian Nagelsmann.
